He urged opinion leaders to not jeopardise the safety of road users by turning the issue into a political one.

The system has been a subject of heavy criticism since its launch on Sept 22 which saw the operation of 14 cameras nationwide.

“I don't think anyone would object to something that will improve roadsafety and reduce deaths due to accidents.

“Every year, over 6,800 people died on the road in our country in over 400,000 accidents. What about the tens of thousands who were injured?” said Kong when asked to comment on the purported objections raised against the implementation of the system.

He said the AES was not a project that was rolled out in haste but wasplanned in detailed, as it was debated and answered in Parliament for several years'.

“When accidents happen, they question why we do not do enough. But when we do something which is proven (to be effective), they also want to play politics, which is very unfair to responsible road users.

“I hope this will not be politicised to risk the life of responsible road users,” said Kong.